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- How do I apply?
A detailed description of the application process—including the documents that must be sent to the Graduate School and documents that must be sent to the Department—is provided on the Graduate School web site (http://gradlsu.gs.lsu.edu/). Please read this material carefully and follow the directions fully. Failure to do so will likely delay the processing of your application.
- The Graduate School web site indicates that some departments may require more information for applications than is listed on the Graduate School web site. Is this the case for the Economics Department?
No, but you should send all the material required in the application process to the appropriate location.
- Does the University or Department provide special forms for recommendation letters?
No. Have your references seal their recommendation letters in an envelope and include these letters with your application or have them send the letters directly to the Graduate Director of the Economics Department.
- Can the application fee be waived?
No. Under no circumstances will the fee be waived.
- Are students admitted to graduate study in economics in every semester?
Since we have a lockstep program, we admit students to graduate study in our department only in the Fall semester. Students without an appropriate undergraduate background may seek admission to the LSU Graduate School as a non-matriculated student in any semester in order to take intermediate macroeconomics, intermediate microeconomics or other courses required before admission to graduate study in economics can be considered. Non-matriculated students are not funded by our department and will be considered for admission into our graduate program once they have finished the undergraduate prerequisites. However, a student enrolling in LSU in a Fall semester as a non-matriculated student will not be admitted into graduate study in economics in the subsequent Spring semester. Admission to graduate study in economics will be only in a Fall semester.
- What types of financial assistance are offered?
The Graduate School web site (http://gradlsu.gs.lsu.edu/) lists the various types of financial assistance available.
Graduate assistantships are the typical form of financial assistance received by students in the Economics Department. To be considered for an assistantship, check the appropriate box on the Graduate School’s online application. Usually one, and occasionally, two entering students who are awarded assistantships also receive a Graduate School Tuition Award. A limited number of Fellowships are available, and competition for Fellowships is campus-wide. The Department determines whether a prospective student will be nominated for a Fellowship.
- Is financial assistance provided to first year students?
Yes, both domestic and international students are eligible for financial assistance in their first year of study.
- How many assistantships will be awarded?
Funding for our assistantships comes from a University-provided budget for assistantships and from grants received by members of the Department. Since the dollar volume of grants received by the members of the department varies from year to year, the number of assistantships awarded may vary from year to year.
- How are assistantships awarded?
After the February 15 deadline for applications for funding, the Department graduate committee considers all the applications received by the deadline and then decides who will be admitted and to whom assistantships will be awarded. Assistantship offers go to the applicants the committee thinks have the most promise. The graduate committee considers GRE scores (with very careful scrutiny of the quantitative component), undergraduate grade point averages and course work, letters of recommendation, and the applicant’s description of why he/she wants to study economics at LSU.
- Can I receive a pre-application assessment of the odds of being awarded an assistantship?
No. Who is offered an assistantship depends on the applicant pool, and, consequently, we have no way of assessing an individual’s chance of being awarded an assistantship before we know the composition of the applicant pool.
- Are both Ph.D. and M.S students eligible for financial assistance?
The Department awards financial assistance only to Ph.D. students.
- How long do I have to complete my Ph.D. degree?
The University has stipulated that the degree must be completed within 7 years of entering a Ph.D. program.
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